Community Association Manager (CAM) Program FAQs

The development stages of this new regulatory program have generated many questions from industry stakeholders. While some questions can be easily answered now; other questions are more difficult to answer because the proposed regulations have not been finalized. As such, the Division of Real Estate has compiled a list of commonly asked questions which can be reasonably answered at this time and are not heavily dependent on the final rules. As this regulatory program continues to take shape, the Division will add additional FAQs to the website and disseminate information to interested parties. The first set of FAQs for the CAM licensure program is below. Please check back for updates to this page as additional information becomes available.

Community Association Manager FAQs

Education - October 2014

The Division currently has an education task force working on an outline for an education content outline to be used by third party education providers; to include occupational schools, trade associations, and other exempt providers. The result will be a 24 hour course that an applicant can take to satisfy the education requirements. This course is an alternative to holding one of the credentials identified in statute and therefore, is not a requirement for anyone holding a CMCA, AMS, or PCAM credential.

Fingerprinting January 1, 2015

Applicant can submit fingerprints for criminal history background checks.

Rulemaking Early January 2015

The Division will submit the community association manager rules and regulations for public rulemaking hearing.

Testing - February 1, 2015

The Division will have the community association manager test for licensing available for applicants. Testing will be provided by PSI and will be available at testing facility locations listed on the Division website.

Licensing Application - April 2015

The application for obtaining a community association manager license will be available on the Division website for completion and submission.

July 1, 2015

Community association managers must be licensed in order to manage a common interest community in the State of Colorado by July 1, 2015.

Those required to be licensed as a community association manager are any person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, association, or corporation that perform more than one of the community association management practices, (as defined below) in consideration of compensation by fee, commission, salary, or anything else of value or with the intention of receiving or collecting such compensation, engages in or offers or attempts to engage in community management in Colorado.

This includes:

the chief executive officer of a business entity that employs individuals or contracts with other business entities to perform community association management services; and

any executive of a business entity who has direct supervision or oversight of an individual who performs community association management services.

Community Association Management Practices are defined as:

receiving, depositing, controlling, or disbursing funds of the common interest community, preparing budgets, or preparing other financial documents;

assisting in the creation and implementation of a reserve program for the replacement of capital assets;

assisting in the provision of notice or conduct of meetings of board members or unit owners;

contracting for or coordinating maintenance of property and facilities of the common interest community;

conducting property inspections, administering applications for architectural review, and keeping records of violations of the governing documents of the common interest community; and

performing other services relating to the day-to-day operation of the common interest community.

Exemptions to Licensure

The following are the statutory exemptions to licensure:

Those who perform not more than one of the practices listed in section 12-61-1001(3), C.R.S., (shown above) for remuneration; or ;

Those who perform more than one of the practices listed in section 12-61-1001(3), C.R.S., (shown above) for no remuneration;

Any clerical, ministerial, accounting, or maintenance function not requiring substantially specialized knowledge, judgment, or managerial skill, under the direct supervision and control of a licensed community association manager or of a contractor employed by a licensed community association manager or by the common interest community’s executive board;

A person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, or association acting personally or corporation acting through its officers or regular salaried employee, on behalf of that person or on in its own behalf as principal in acquiring or in negotiating to acquire any interest in real estate;

An attorney-at-law in connection with his or her representation of clients in the practice of law;

*A corporation with respect to property owned or leased by it, acting through its officers or regular salaried employees, when such acts are incidental and necessary in the ordinary course of the corporation’s business activities of a non-property management nature.

*(For the purposes of this paragraph (b), the term "officers or regular salaried employees" means persons regularly employed who derive not less than seventy-five percent of their compensation from the corporation in the form of salaries.)

July 1, 2015

Pursuant to section 12-61-1002(1), C.R.S., effective July 1, 2015, it is unlawful for any person to engage in, or to hold out himself, herself, or itself as qualified to engage in the business of community association management without first having obtained a license from the Division of Real Estate.

In order to be licensed by July 1st, 2015 the applicant must complete the following:

Hold one of the credentials found in section 12-61-1003(5)(a)(I)(A), (B), or (C), C.R.S., or complete 24 hours of alternative instruction created by the Division of Real Estate;

Certify completion of the required educational requirements;

Pass the state exam;

Submit a set of fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of conducting a fingerprint-based criminal history record check; and

If a self-managed association provides remuneration to any person(s) performing two (2) or more activities as defined in Section 12-61-1001(3), C.R.S., then any such person(s) is required to hold a community association manager license. If a self-managed association does not provide remuneration for management activities performed, then any such person(s) would not be required to hold a community association manager license.

The Division may issue a license to an applicant who has held a community association manager license in another jurisdiction that regulates community association managers and who has been licensed for two (2) or more years prior to applying for a Colorado license. (See Proposed Rule A-7)

The applicant must establish that he or she possesses credentials and qualifications that are substantively equivalent to the requirements in Colorado for licensure by examination, as determined by the Director.(See Proposed Rule A-6)

Any person so licensed may be required to take the portion of the examination pertaining to the legal documents and statutes that enable a community association to operate, including the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA) and other applicable provisions of Colorado law, within 30 days after first receiving a Colorado license.

The Division will be reviewing other states’ community association manager license credentials and qualifications, to determine that they are substantially equivalent to the Colorado requirements.

Prior to submitting an application, each applicant must submit a set of fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the purpose of conducting a Colorado and national fingerprint-based criminal history background check utilizing records of CBI and the FBI. (See Proposed Rule A-11)

Applicants applying for a community association license, who currently hold any other professional license (such as a real estate broker license) will still be required to complete this process.

Options for Getting and Submitting Your Fingerprints

CBI only conducts background checks; they do not perform the actual fingerprinting. You must utilize one of the following methods for getting fingerprinted and communicating information to CBI.

Option1 (Electronic Transfer)

Utilize an electronic transfer of fingerprints and identification information directly to CBI. The providers listed below will collect the CBI fee and transmit the fingerprint data and identification information to CBI. This process does not utilize a paper fingerprint card. However, when you are asked by the person taking your fingerprints, you will need to know the identification information described below in the Additional Information section.

Option 2 (Fingerprint Card with Electronic Transfer)

Use the fingerprint card # FD-258 and utilize an electronic transfer of fingerprints onto the card. See Additional Information below for availability of card #FD-258. Leave the identification information area of the fingerprint card blank until the person taking your fingerprints asks you to furnish the information. You must complete all fields on the fingerprint card. Afterward, you will need to either mail or deliver the completed fingerprint card to CBI along with the fee. See CBI contact information above.

Leave the identification information area of the fingerprint card blank until the person taking your fingerprints asks you to furnish the information.

The following County Sheriff Departments will electronically transfer fingerprints onto the fingerprint card. You will need to contact them for hours of operation and payment information:

Option 3 (Rolled Ink Transfer)

Most police departments will utilize the rolled ink transfer of fingerprints onto card #FD-258. Call for hours of operations and cost. See Additional Information below for availability of card #FD-258. Leave the identification information area of the fingerprint card blank until the person taking your fingerprints asks you to furnish the information. Afterward, you will need to either mail or deliver the completed card to CBI along with the fee. Click here for CBI contact information.

The ink method can have the highest rate of failure due to lower quality of print characteristics. If you choose this method it is recommended that it be performed by a law enforcement agency trained in the process.

Additional Information

If you utilize option 2 or 3 be sure all of the information asked for in the spaces on the top portion of the fingerprint card are completely filled out, or the fingerprint card will be rejected.

You will need to also fill in the following spaces on the fingerprint card with the following information:

Notice

The above methods produce varying degrees of quality of fingerprint characteristics and length of time involved in the background check. Information available at this time indicates that the electronic method of fingerprinting and transmittal with Arapahoe Community College has the highest degree of quality of fingerprint characteristics and transmittal.

Applicants whose fingerprints are not readable due to low quality of fingerprint characteristics will be required to resubmit to CBI (for an additional fee) fingerprints that are readable.

Be sure to sign the fingerprint card, and have the person performing the fingerprinting sign the fingerprint card in the space titled: SIGNATURE OF OFFICIAL TAKING FINGERPRINTS.

Notice to Applicants

As an applicant for a license requiring the submission of fingerprints to CBI and FBI, your fingerprints will be submitted to these agencies to check both Colorado and federal arrest records.

Discrepancies on your Colorado arrest record can be challenged and corrected by contacting CBI or by calling the Identification Unit at (303) 239-4208. Additional information is available on CBI’s website.

Discrepancies with records from the FBI or relating to another state may be challenged through the FBI. Information, including the information listed below, can be found on the FBI website at www.fbi.gov. The FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division processes these requests. Only you can request a copy of your own identification record. The FBI offers two methods for requesting your FBI identification record or proof that a record does not exist.

Option 1

Option 2

Submit your request to an FBI-approved Channeler (a private business that has contracted with the FBI to receive the fingerprint submission and relevant data). The Channeler will collect the associated fee(s), electronically forward the fingerprint submission with the necessary information to the FBI CJIS Division for a national criminal history background check and receive the electronic background check result for dissemination to the individual. Contact each Channeler for processing times.

When a complaint is received by the Division of Real Estate against a licensed community association manager it is assigned to one of our investigative staff to review for violations of manager licensing laws and regulations. The Division’s jurisdiction extends only to matters where violations of licensing laws and/or rules have occurred.

The Division has no jurisdiction with regard to:

any civil claims or disputes with an common interest community association where no license law violations have occurred;

mediating any disputes or rendering any decision upon the parties; and

investigating allegations of license law violation(s) that occurred prior to July, 1 2015.

Complaint Process

After a complaint is received and reviewed for possible license law violations, a copy of the complaint will be sent to the licensee for an opportunity to respond to the allegations. After the investigative staff has reviewed the written responses, any supporting documentation, interviews of the complainant, respondent and any witnesses, a determination is made of any violations to license law or regulations. If no violations of licensing law are substantiated in the investigation, the complaint is dismissed. If the evidence supports a possible violation of license law, the Director will recommend appropriate discipline to be taken against the licensee.

This may include, but is not limited to additional education, fines, probation, restricted license, public censure, and revocation. The licensee may accept the recommended discipline or exercise their right to due process. If the licensee accepts the discipline, the case is closed and the Division monitors compliance of the stipulated discipline. If the licensee does not accept the recommend discipline, the case will be turned over to the Attorney General's office for notice of charges to be filed. The respondent will have an opportunity to present their case in front of an Administrative Law Judge, who will then make the determination as to any license law violation(s) and the appropriate discipline.

Restitution Notice

The Division does not have the authority to order restitution in any case.

The community association manager licensing statute encompasses the licensure of professional managers that manage various types of common interest communities, including, but not limited to residential, mixed-use, commercial, timeshare and condo hotel communities

House Bill 13-1277 requires licensing for anyone who engages in certain defined activities of a “Community Association Manager” relating to the management of a common interest community.

An applicant for a community association manager’s license must hold one of the following credentials:

Certified Manager of Community Associations or “CMCA”;

Association Management Specialist or “AMS”;

Professional Community Association Manager or “PCAM”; or

A credential identified by the Director. *

*The Division of Real Estate has formed an education task force charged with creating an education content outline to be used by third party education providers; to include occupational schools, trade associations, and other exempt providers. After successful completion of the Division created 24 hour course, an applicant for licensure will have satisfied the education requirements. This course is an alternative to holding one of the credentials identified in statute and therefore, is not a requirement for anyone holding a CMCA, AMS, or PCAM credential. (See Proposed Rule A-12)

Individuals must also certify completion of any educational requirements and pass an examination designed to determine the competency of the applicant in the following subject matter areas: (See Proposed Rule A-3)

The legal documents and statutes that enable a community association to operate, including the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”) and other “applicable provisions of Colorado law”; and

“Other core competencies” as specified by the Director of the Division of Real Estate.

Pre-license education requirements can be obtained by way of two options:

Option 1

Individuals wanting to pursue the “Certified Manager of Community Associations” (CMCA) credential should contact the Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB) by visiting their website at www.camicb.org. Individuals seeking information about the “Association Management Specialist” (AMS) or the “Professional Community Association Manager” (PCAM) should contact the Community Association Institute (CAI) by visiting their website at www.caionline.org. Individuals interested in the AMS or PCAM credentials may need to meet experience and education requirements prior to pursuing the AMS or PCAM credential.

Option 2

Individuals wanting to obtain the Division of Real Estate’s alternative credential will have an opportunity to begin taking the course starting in October 2014. The Division has received interest from educational providers; such as private ocupational schools, trade associaitons, and law firms willing to offer the Divison's credential. As we move closer to October, the Division will publish a list on its website of all approved providers of the alternative credential. Many of the providers will offer the course in a live classroom setting and as an online course.

Pursuant to section 12-61-1000(3), C.R.S., the Director of the Division of Real estate will establish, by rule, the continuing education requirements for licensed community association managers. The proposed B rules require licensed community association managers to successfully complete eight (8) hours of continuing education courses in approved subject material per year.

Licensees will need to provide proof of completion before they renew an active license, activate an inactive license, or reinstate an expired license to active status. However, a licensee may choose to take and successfully pass the Colorado state portion of the community association manager test in lieu of the eight (8) hours of continuing education courses. (See Proposed Rule B-2)